Freeport store sells winning $200,000 lottery ticket

FREEPORT - Royal Liquor, 306 N. Park Blvd. has sold a $200,000 grand-prize winning ticket for Monday night's Lucky Day Lotto drawing. The winner has yet to come forward.

"With the lottery everything is luck of the draw but it's nice when you can see winners over and over in certain areas," said Illinois Lottery spokeswoman Chanele Newton. "We're just excited to see who won. This will make someone's new year a really happy one."

Freeport resident Ted Baumgartner won a $50 million Powerball jackpot - the state's largest - on March 30 at the Shell Express, 1736 S. West Ave. Baumgartner took the lump-sum option, which gave him $21,957,340.

Monday night's winner matched all five numbers - 1, 7, 12, 21 and 31.

"Now we are just waiting for them to come forward and claim their prize at one of our claim centers and then we'll go from there," Newton said.

Royal Liquor will reap $2,000, which is 1 percent of the winnings, from the drawing.

"Our retailers are usually really excited not only for the bonus check but the attention they get from selling the winning ticket," Newton said. "People deem those stores as lucky stores and what have you."

The Lucky Day Lotto drawings are held twice a day, seven days a week, with an average of more 40,000 winners every day.